BLOG WITH US!

Breaking News: There will be a public hearing held on SB-753 by the Environment Committee on Friday February 3rd beginning at 10 AM in Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building.

SB-753 is "An Act Concerning the Viability of Expanding the Bottled Water Industry in Connecticut". (www.cga.ct.gov/2017/TOB/s/2017SB-00753-R00-SB.htm). Its author remains unknown, but its title betrays a probable industry attempt to derail legislative oversight of the water bottling industry while "studying" the critical issues facing CT after the arrival of a major bottler into the state.

It appears that this may be the only water legislation allowed a public hearing in this session. The tie in the CT Senate has rendered opponents the ability to kill bills before they even come before the public for a hearing.

Save Our Water CT plans to be there in force to testify that this "study" bill is not enough and that concepts it has forwarded to our state representatives for the past two years need to be included in the bill.

Study alone is a call to inaction, allowing more corporate raids on Connecticut's water even while the state suffers through a near-record drought.

You may submit testimony by email until Thursday Feb. 2cd at 3 PM. Send email to:ENVtestimony@cga.ct.govInclude the bill number and title in the subject line of your email.

Check this list of members of the environment committee: www.cga.ct.gov/env/If your legislator is on the committee, please call him or her. Your voice is essential!

A study bill (SB-753) is only a start, but is flawed and needs revision.

We need to address the critical issues noted by SB-753 now, not leave the state open to more corporate water raids while a severe drought continues.

We need drought protection so that our water is not sent out of state in bottles while we conserve.

We need a permitting system for large water bottlers, so that we ensure that all of CT has enough water now and for the future- before giving it away to water bottling giants.

We need a water rate structure that promotes conservation, not special discounts for large super-users which incentivizes over-use.

Corporations profiting from Grade A CT water should pay their fair share to support clean water infrastructure, which residents have been doing for years.

Bill to "study" Expanded Water Bottling will be the only "water bill" allowed to come up for a hearing. Powerful Opponents want to "study" water bottling, while leaving it without any oversight. While the drought continues, CT will still be open to corporate water raids.

A Letter to Our Legislators:

As our state continues to suffer from a withering drought, I am calling on you to protect our public trust waters. With climate change an ever-increasing concern, it’s crucial to preserve our Grade A drinking water and protect our watersheds, not only for the immediate future but for generations to come. We need to ensure adequate water supply for our homes, environment, agriculture, businesses, and recreation before allocating it irretrievably to private corporations.

Last year we saw a multi-national water bottling company establish itself in our state with virtually no public input or state oversight. Niagara Bottling of California received local tax abatements and unprecedented discounts on water and sewer rates (Clean Water Project rates) on up to 1.8M gallons/day of Grade A municipal drinking water. No environmental review or state permitting was required. No expiration date on its claim to state waters was placed. While drought warnings were sent to much of the state asking residents to conserve, this corporation was preparing to ship millions of single-serve plastic water bottles out of the watershed and beyond state borders. To our dismay, our current state drought plans do not include mandatory restrictions on this large-scale extraction until long after residents are voluntarily cutting back and reservoirs are at dangerously low levels.

SB-753 recognizes critical issues confronting Connecticut’s water supplies and environment as major water bottlers move into our state. However, study alone is essentially a call to inaction for 2 more years. As such, SB-753 is flawed if left without revision. We need legislation NOW that provides sensible, reasonable oversight of any sizeable expansion of the bottled water industry:

Protect the state’s waters during a drought: limit water bottling while watersheds are stressed and residents are conserving- it’s ALREADY happening.

Require a permit for any large expansion of water bottling so we know there’s enough water for both our drinking needs and our environment- for now and for decades to come. Place a moratorium on major expansion of water bottling while an appropriate permit is developed.

Ensure water rates are not incentivizing over-use of water: lowering rates for super-users contradicts the conservation ethic this natural resource requires.

Support public clean water infrastructure by requiring corporations profiting from Grade A CT water to pay their fair share.

A STUDY BILL (SB-753) ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH! It is essentially a call to INACTION. CT's WATER NEEDS PROTECTION NOW! Water is a Public Trust, not a Corporate Asset.